Perceptions of Women's Sexual Interest and Acquaintance Rape

Abstract

Rape prevention and education efforts often focus on the need for clear communication regarding sexual intent between women and men. This approach is based on the underlying assumption that acquaintance rape is a relational issue resulting from miscommunication. Findings from two studies challenge that assumption. The first study demonstrates that men who self-report engaging in sexually aggressive behavior are significantly more likely to misperceive women's sexual intent than other men or women. The second study demonstrates that the cognitive, rather than affective, components of rape-supportive attitudes contribute to sexualized interpretations of women's behavior. Thus, it appears that the tendency to rely on miscommunication as a framework for understanding sexual assault may be deflecting attention from sexual overperceptions and the affectively based information processing among men who engage in sexually assaultive behavior.